All eyes were on ‘Sonic the Hedgehog‘ this past weekend. As some of you may remember, the film was originally scheduled to be released a few months ago, but production was pushed back due to internet rage over Sonic’s appearance.
For a full week, all anyone could talk about was how creepy Sonic looked. The studio listened and decided it would be in their best interest to change his appearance.
And the move worked out. People came out to support the video game adaptation in record numbers this past weekend. It made $58 million over the traditional three-day weekend, and around $70 million if you add in the extra day, thanks to Presidents’ Day.
Previously, 2019’s Pokemon Detective Pikachu boasted the top North American debut for a video game adaptation with a three-day start of $54.3 million, not adjusted for inflation.
According to the film’s CinemaScore, audiences are loving it. It has an “A” rating on the site. Meanwhile, critics were mixed.
It’s likely many people wanted to support this film because they felt like the studio actually listened to them. The people complained, and the studio corrected the problem. We all love to be heard.
If the creepy Sonic hadn’t happened, I don’t think we’d be talking about record breaking numbers.
